Compound for treating road-surfaces.



WALTER J. REYNOLDS, OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND.

CQMPOUND FOR TREATING ROAD-SURFACES.

No Drawing.

To all 'whom it may concern:

Be it ,known that I, WALTER J. RnYNonus, a citizen of the United. Stirtdsyresiding at Providence, in the county of Providence and State of Rhode Island, have invented a new and useful Compound for Treating Road- Surfaces, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has reference to improvements incompounds for treating road sur'-' faces, and its object is 'to provide a compound which may be applied 'to the surface of a dirt, macadamized, or like road-bed,

' and which will act to bind-the surface par:

' to the action of rain to resist "qualities,

ticles together into a hard'compact mass of a dustles's, weather resisting character.

It is customary to use crude petroleum as a topdressing for dirt, macadamized, and other like roads as a dust preventative, and such material is commonly. applied to the road-bed by means of a sprinkling cart, or other sprinkling apparatus. Crude petroleum, however, is

and is not fully resistant to Weather conditions so that under conditions of use the surface treated will at times flake off from the underlying portions of the road bed, and the petroleum will leach through the upper layers of the road-bed, so that its surfacing qualities are thereby lost. Again, crude petroleum is not sufficiently resistant the washing effects ofrain water, especially in the case of heavy rains, and extensive repairs are frequently demanded, even ina single'season. The tendency of the crude petroleum to leave the surface of the road-bed1 detracts from the dust-laying qualities of such material, so that retreatment of the road is demanded at comparatively frequent intervals.

. However, crude petroleum has the advantage of initial cheapness, and other qualities, which makes its use upon road-bedsadvane tageous.

By the present invention certain objectionable features of crude petroleum are eliminated, so that there is. produced a road dressing or coating compound. which of a sprinkler or like apparatus, and when applied becomes strongly adhesiveto the Specification of Letters Iatent.

heat until quite lacking in adhesive for immediate use, the

may be readily applied to the road surface by means Patented Mar. 16, 1915.,

Application filed September 22, 1910. Serial No. 583,307:

is not washed away during heavy rain storms and will not seep or leach through the lower layers of the road-bed. away from the surface.

The improved road dressing comprises a compound of crude petroleum and crude rosin, the rosin being dissolved in the petroleum either rapidly by the aid of heat, or

slowly by immersion in-the petroleum. No fixed formula can be given, since the'proportions of crude petroleum and rosin will varyin accordance with the character of the road-bed to be treated. It has been found in practice that one and a half pounds of dark, cheap I0S1I1 and three quarts and two gills of crude petroleum, making in all one'gallon of the compound, will produce an average mixture. The rosin is melted by thin and the crude petroleum is then added and stirred into the hot rosin, the-heating and stirring being continned until the mass becomes quite hot,

after which the mixture or compound may be drawnofi and cooled. The rosin-and oil so mixedwill not afterward separate.

Instead of forming the compound in the manner just described, twelve ounces of the dark, cheap rosin may be added to three quarts and five gills of crude petroleum and permitted to stand in a suitable receptacle for ten or twelve days with occasional stirring. The oil dissolves the rosin and the mixture is thorough.

Where the compound is to be transported by railroad or by water, as, for instance, in

tank cars or tank vessels, a suitable proportion of rosin may be added to the crude petroleum in the storage tanks and this will become dissolved and intermixed by the mo- .tion of the cars or vessels during the time of transportation, so that the compound is ready for use when delivered. When, however, it is necessary to make the compound heating process is to be employed.

Compounds made by the formulasglven may be thinned by thaddition of crude petroleum to the extent of one, two, three or more gallons of crude petroleum to one gallon of the compound, the character of the surface to be treated determimng the degree of thinning of the compound.

.The rosin adds body to the crude petroleum at a negligible cost and produces a. heavy, sticky oil, which though thin eno u h for use with a sprinkler, is sufficiently sticfiy and gluey to unite the particles of dirt or sand or dust composing the surface of the road-bed, and because of the nature of the compound it will remain in engagement with such united particles for long periods of time, and because of its character will resist the action of rain. Since weather conditions do not affect the compound except very slowly, there is no disintegration of the surface to produce dust to be.blown away by winds as occurs after a comparatively short time period on roads treated with crude petroleum alone, this being due to the fact that with the compound of the present invention there is no leaching of the compound and no washing of the same away from the surface of the road bed. F urthermore, the compound after application will pack very hard under the action of vehicles, so that the road-bed is harder and correspondingly better than a road-bed treated with crude petroleum or'other like oils. The treated road-bed, furthermore, catches and retains dust which may reach it and will readily shed water. While the surface of the road-bed treated with the compound of the present invention is sufficiently adhesive to catch and retain dust, it will not adhere to vehicle wheels or automobile tires, and conse uently is harmless to the tiresand because di its non-adhering qualities the treated surface does not flake up under the action of passing vehicles,

Any kind of road-bed which is improved by treatment with crude petroleum is susceptible of treatment with the compound of the present invention with a resultant surfacim superiortothat produced by crude petro eum, and from actual comparison un-- der like conditions has lasting qualities many times that of a road-bed treated with crude petroleum alone. Of course, two or more applications of the compound to the road-bed may be made, if needed. \Vhile the application of the compound has been described with relation to road-beds, it may be used in connection with sidewalks, in which case it is advisable to level oil the sidewalk with a rake, and then sprinkle or pour the compound thereover, after which sand or gravel may be sprinkled on the treated walk and rolled with a small roller, repeating the treatment if necessar A road-bed of a railway may be rendere dustless by sprinkling with the compound diluted as needed with crude petroleum. "What is claimed is A normally liquid compound for treating road surfaces, consisting solely of crude petroleum and rosin dissolved therein, the petroleum largely predominating and the amount of rosin being sufficient to make the compound sticky and resistant to weather conditions, whereby the compound is adhesive to dust and resistant to thewashing effects of water, and maintains such characteristics for long periods of time.

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto ailiXed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

WALTER J. REYNOLDS.

Witnesses:

JoHN H. Sreonns, DAvin R. WAGNER. 

